Memorial Day weekend is five Fridays away. Let that land for a second.
Here at LYS, we’ve been watching the calendar creep up on us, the marina is getting a little busier every Saturday, and the “what are we doing over Memorial Day?” texts are starting to fly around our group chats. If you’re anything like most of our clients, you’ve got a boat (or you’re about to) and you’ve got three uncles, two buddies, and a kid home from college all waiting to see what the plan is.
So let’s give you a plan. Actually, let’s give you three — one for each kind of weekend you might be in the mood for. Pick your vibe.
Option 1: The Afternoon Ambassador
Best for: newer owners, families with small kids, or anyone who wants to be back in the slip before the sun goes down.
Head out of Clear Lake, point the bow 110 degrees Southeast, and make for Redfish Island. It’s the classic Galveston Bay afternoon destination for a reason — protected anchorage, easy in and out, great swimming off the stern, and enough room for the whole Kemah fleet to spread out on a holiday weekend without feeling crowded.
Pack a cooler, bring the floats, and plan to be back at the dock in time for dinner on the Boardwalk. This is the kind of day that sells people on boat ownership in the first place.
Fits nicely on: anything from a Catalina 310 up to a Wellcraft 38 center console. If you’re shopping, this is the sweet spot for almost every boat we’ve got listed right now.
Option 2: The Overnighter
Best for: couples, experienced owners, people whose kids finally aged out of water wings.
Leave Kemah Friday after work, cruise down to Offats Bayou in Galveston, drop the hook or grab a slip at Moody Gardens, take your time with coffee in the cockpit, then work your way back up the bay with a stop at Redfish or anchor out somewhere quiet off the Kemah Channel for Saturday night.
This is the overnighter that most of our clients tell us they’re actually dreaming about when they first walk onto our docks. Two nights on the water, no airport, no hotel, and Monday morning you’re back at the slip bragging about it to everyone at the marina.
Fits nicely on: Catalina 356/386, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 380/415, True North 34 — anything with a proper galley, a real head, and enough cabin space for two people to not be on top of each other.
Option 3: The Long Weekend
Best for: the owner who’s been telling themselves “one day I’m going to…”
This is the year. Leave Kemah Thursday night or Friday morning, head down the ICW, and go somewhere. Port O’Connor is the obvious answer — protected cruising, great fishing, classic Texas coast. For the ambitious, push on to Port Aransas and make a real trip of it. Three nights, a handful of anchorages, and a crew that’ll still be talking about it at Christmas.
This is the trip that tells you whether your current boat is still the right boat. A lot of our clients figure out during the long weekend that they’re done with the old girl — she’s handled it, she’s been faithful, but the next chapter wants more fuel capacity, more water, more cabin, more range.
Fits nicely on: Catalina 426/446, Jeanneau Yachts 55, True North 39, Beneteau Antares, or a Grand Banks that’s seen a few miles.
If your weekend plan is bigger than your boat
Here’s the thing we’ve noticed after a combined 150 years of doing this: the people who actually do the big weekend are the ones who buy the right boat in April, not the ones who wait until August to start looking. Spring inventory is where the deals live, and the Texas boating calendar doesn’t slow down until October.
If you’re reading this and quietly realizing that Option 3 sounds like exactly your kind of weekend — but your current boat is an Option 1 boat — come talk to us. We’ll tell you honestly what we’d put you on, what your current boat is worth right now, and how to time the swap so you’re at the helm of the right boat before Memorial Day weekend, not after it.
Call us at 844-LYS-BOAT or come walk the docks. We’re here.